Volunteers Archive

A strong volunteer base makes for a healthy long-term parent group. You'll find tons of ideas in the articles below to help you get greater parent and community involvement in your PTO. When you're done reading, head over to the Message Boards to connect with other leaders facing the same challenges.

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• 10 Tips for Classroom Volunteers - The teachers who need classroom help the most are often too busy to organize volunteer work. These simple steps parents can take will make the volunteer experience more rewarding for everyone.
• A Tale of Two Volunteers - Bridging the newbie-veteran gap.
• Connect With Grandparents and Seniors - Reaching out to grandparents and seniors will pay dividends. Here’s how to make it happen.
• Making School-Church Partnerships Work - Handled well, relationships with local religious organizations can lead to positive outcomes for schools and students.
• New Laws for Screening Volunteers - Three states passed laws in 2007 that addressed fingerprinting or doing background checks on school volunteers.
• Protect Volunteers From Legal Risks - Having a few key policies in place can minimize the risks to parent volunteers.
• Recruiting Preschool Parents - Involvement by parents whose children haven't even started school yet is great for everyone: They get a low-stress introduction to the school, and your group expands its membership base (and the pool of future leaders, too).
• Service Groups Lend a Hand - Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, and other community organizations can provide a lot of help to parent groups.
• Tax Breaks for Volunteers - School or parent group volunteers may be entitled to some tax breaks for their contributions; tax professionals recommend taking deductions only if the group is a registered 501(c)(3) charity.
• Time: The New Currency for Volunteers - Time is a precious commodity for today's overcommitted families. To get them involved, show them you understand and offer a variety of ways they can participate.
• Working Moms Are Top U.S. Volunteers - A survey identifies working mothers as the most likely to give of their time.

Volunteer Management

• 25 Ways To Catch and Keep Volunteers - Tips to lure volunteers in, keep them happy, and avoid the pitfalls that will keep them from coming back.
• A Tool To Manage Volunteers - PTO Manager helps you find and track volunteers, and manage your finances more efficiently.
• Build Your Volunteer Base: 11 Ideas - Tried-and-true ideas to nurture volunteers and make sure that every involvement experience is a positive one.
• Care and Feeding of Key Volunteers - Your core members are so important to the success of your group. Make sure they're getting what they need out of their volunteer experience.
• Recruit Volunteers by Phone - "Can you make a few calls?" may be the single phrase volunteers least like to hear. A simple system can make the task less stressful and more successful.